Platen-shifting mechanism for type-writing machines.



No. 827,041. PATENTED JULY 24, 1906. J. B. smoa.

PLATEN SHI'FTING MECHANISM FOR TYPE WRITING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILEDNOV.10.'1904.

2 SHEETS-SEEET'L 6 as 25 I "lm 48 F igi. .3]. 1 5 917 60 57 25 5039%0232 v gvwwto a H0- 827,04l. PATENTED JULY 24, 1906.

J. B. SEOOR. I PLATEN SHIFTING MECHANISM FOR TYPE WRITING MAOHINES5APPLICATION FILB D NOV.10,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

avwwlfoz IO shifting mechanism for type-writing ma- UN PATENT OFFICE;

JEROME B. SECOR, OF DERBY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO. THE VVI'LLIAMSTYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF DERBY, CONNECTICUT.

A CORPORATION or IOWA.

PLATEN-SHlFT-ING MECHANISM FOR TYPE-WRITIFNGYMACHINES- Specification ofLetters Patent.

. Patented Ju1y'24, 1906.

Application filed November 10,1904. Serial No. 232,190.

To a whom itj'nmy concern:

Be itknown that I, JEROME B. SnooR, a

, citizen of the United States, residing at chines, of which-thefollowing is a specification.

My present invention relates to platen- .chines, and has for its objectto provide an improved. mechanism of 5 this character in which themovement of'the platen may be regulated through the adjustment of partshereinafter described and in which aconstantand easy touch on theshift-key leversis produced.

provide improved details of structure clearly ereinafter described," andshown in the accompanying drawings, in which like'reference charactersrefer to like parts, and in which u u u a Figure 1 1s a side elevationof my 1mproved mechanism, showing so much of the structure of a te-writing machine as is necessary for purposes of illustration. Fig. 2is a detail side elevation of a portion of the same, showingintermediate positions of parts.- Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation'of a4 is a rear elevation of a portion of the struc-- fture shownin Fig. '1,and Fig..5'is a-detail perspective of the locking device forming:

of an'elevating-frame comprising track-bar '8 portion of the structureshown in Fig. 1,

showing the partsin shifted positions. Fig.

part of'my improved shifting mechanism.

' uReferri'ng in detail to the drawings, 1 is the frame of afront-strike type-writing machine, having mounted thereon, on parallellinks 2 on carriage 3, a platen i. Links 2 have suspended therefrom aswinging frame 5,, car-.

rying an antifriction-roller 6 in its housing 7. Roller 6 travels uponthe flanged track-bar 8 and legs or supports 9. Housing 7 is pro ividedwith 'a lug or pro'ection 7", bent to engage the under-side of t eflange of the trackbar 8 to prevent automatic vertical. disengagementbetween the track-bar 8 and swinging frame 5. Frame 5 is also providedwith a lug or p which engages the opposite face .of the trackbar 8 tothat engaged by projection 7 and,

together with projection 7 prevents lateral displacement of 'roller 6from track-bar 8.

Legs or. supports "9 are adjustably connected to track-bar 8 throughmeans of screws 10,

seated in bar 8 and passing through slots 11 in legs 9,'so thatby'loosening screws legs or supports 9 may be adjusted on bar 8, after'whichscrews 10 are again tightened.

Such adjustment is desirable for a purpose described hereinafter. Inorder to facilitate such adjustment,.I have provided bar 8 with apair ofeye-lugs 12, projecting at right angles. to bar 8 andbne passing througha perforation 13in each. leg or en port 9. Legs or supports 9 are alsoprovide with eye-lugs 14,

ejection 5 opposite to'lug 7',

one-on each leg,.corresponding with eye-lugs l2 and registeringtherewith. 15 represents screws passing through lugs 12 14 and throughmeans of which by turning Whenscrews' 10 are'loosened the legsorsupports 9 are adjusted on bar 8, after which such adjustment screws10 are again tightened. 1

Attheir lower ends legs orsupports 9 rest on the rear. ends .ofshifting-sublevers 16,

'pivotedat 17 to the machine-frame and bent upon themselves at 18 toform a wide bearing e surface for legs or supports 9. The edges of legsor supports 9, whichengage sublevers 16, are sharpened at 19 andareseatdin notches 20 in said levers 16 to form a knife- I edge bearing to avoidfriction.

21 is a latch on each of' the subleversf16,

which engages a suitable perforation in the legor support 9 to preventautomatic dis-.'-

placement of saidleg or support 9'from the; lever 16. The engagingsurface of the latch .21 is struck in an arc'whose center is in the samevertical plane with the leg or support 9,

- the obj ect of thus shaping the latch 21' being to avoid frictionbetween said latch and sublever 16 during operation. 7

Engaging the forward end of sublevers 16 'are-acceleratin g links '23,-Link'23 is formed of a single piece 'of metal or a blank-bent tostraddle the lever 16 and toform a nose 24, engaging the'forward end ofsaid lever, the

forward end of the lever having an angular engaging surface '25, so thatwhile the nose 24.

of link 23 is in engagement with lever 16 a 21611 the parts are .at'restthe heel 26of link 23 being on the horizontal, and hence at 2:1

angle to the engaging surface of the lever 16, will be out of contactwith said lever. order to retain link 23 on lever 16, a retaining-screw16 is passed through the lever 16 and through a slot 27in link 23, thehead 28 and nut 29 on screw 16 seating in the ends of the slot 27 or atthe base of the recess formed by slot 27 upon bending link 23 intoshape: The ends of link 23 extend down to the main shift-lever 30, oneof said ends being bent and passing through a perforation 31 in saidlever at an angle to the other end of link i '23, there being a tongue32 on the bent end,

which is inserted in a transverse slot 33 in the S unbent end of saidlink- 23 and then bent downward to secure said ends together and lockthe link 23 to the lever 30. Perforation 31 is formed with opposingconvex edges,

' which approach each other to a pointwhich tioii taking place as thelink 23 is drawn down and depresses lever 16 and being limited bythe-lever 30 in its upper and lower positions.

In the passive positions of the parts, Fig. 1, the nose 24 is inengagement with surface '25. In the shifted positions of the parts, Fig.3, heel '26 is in engagement with surface 25. In intermediate positions'of the parts, Fig. 2,

' both nose 24 and heel 26 are in engagement with surface 25, which isthen one. horizontal.

The nose 24 being a greater distance from pivot 17 of lever 16 than heel26, it will be observed that greater leverage on lever 16 is obtained atthe start of a depression of the shift-lever 30, sincenose 24 is inengagement with surface 25 at the initial movement of lever 16, and thatas the lever 30 gathers momentum in its downward movement the lev- Ierage-on lever 16 decreases by reason of the change of application ofpower from nose 24 to heel 26. In this way and through these means thetouch of the shift-lever key is made easy to start.

Levers 30-are connected by a pivot-bar or rock-shaft 38 at their rearends to make said levers move in unison upon depression of the key ofeither lever 30. The

ivot-bar or rock-shaft 38 is-pivoted in t is machineframe.

' The weight of the platen is excessive-forpurpose of returningshift-levers 30 to their normal positions, so that springs- 66 areprovided, one tending to draw the platendown and the other tending toforce the platen upward. 66 (shown in Fig. 1)repread usted. position.

46, seated in said lever.

sents simple plate-springs bearing upward under the cheek-plates, inwhich the platen is 42 is a set-screw seated in post 40 and impingingpin 41 and by which pin 41 is held in gaging face and projects into thepath of lug or projection 39. For the purpose of obtain ing a fineadjustment of pin 41 afeed-screw 43 is provided, seated in ascrew-threaded socket in post 40. and having an annular flange 44engaging a notch or recess in pin 41,

Pin 41 has a beveled enso that as screw 43 is rotated the pin 41 ismoved in either direction in its socket to extend or retract the same. iI

By the adjustment of the stop-pin'41 the vertical movement of the legs9, forming part of theelevating-frame, may be regulated, and thereforethe shifted position of the platen may be properly adjusted to maintainthe platen in the proper plane-of type-head impact in the upper-caseposition. The adjustment of the legs 9- upon the track-bar 8 permits ofthe regulation of the initial or lower-case position of the platenthrough the lengthening or shortening of said legs-that is, byincreasing or decreasing the distance between the sublevers 16 and theplaten 4.

' I have now described the means for-shifting the platen to change thecase of the t pe. As is well known, it is frequently desirabie to lockthe platen in its shifted or upper-case position. For this purpose Ihave providefi an improved shift-lever-locking dev1ce,whic I will nowroceed to describe.

' Each of t e shift-levers 30 is provided with the usual shift-key 30:Positloned on each a single iece of metal or blank'bent'to strad: dlethe ever 30 and depending from a ivot The latch 45 as a suitableengaging nose 47. Positioned on the forward end of the shift-lever'30,between the main shift-key 30 and the acceleratinglink 23, is anauxiliary orshift-lock key 48. Key 48 is positioned on aU-shapedshank'49, formed of a single piece of metal or a blank bentintoU shape to straddle the shift lever 30-andpivoted at 50 to saidshift-lever. The key-48-1s mounted upon apair of upwardlylugs 51 on saidshank 49. Conproject nectmg tfie 111%: 51 above the upper edge orsurface of the s ed upondepression of the key 48, after .aillmv 3 1ft-lever 30 is a p n '52, adaptited motion of said key, to communicateof the shift-levers 30 is a latch 45, formed of downward motion to theshift-lever 30. Car

ried b the shank 49, beneath the shift-lever 30 and se ured tocross-webs 53 on said-shank 49, is a rod or bar 54, preferably of springmetal, extending 'rearwardly and engaging the uppersurface of the Web55, connecting the two arms '.,of the latch 45, so-that upon downwardpressure of the shank 49 by-the key 48 said shank 49 turning upon itspivot 50, the rod or bar-54 of-spring metal, Wlll be depressed, turningthe latch 45 on its pivot 46 forward in oppositionto spring 56, securedat one end to t e shift-lever 30'and'at its other end to the web 55'ofthe latch '45. Upon pressure-being exerted'on the key 48 latch 45 is, asstated, thrown forward on'its 57 man adjustable keeper pivotedat 58 tothe machine-frame and vertically adjustable through means of a nut 59 ona bolt 60, engaging a slot 61 in said keeper 57. Bolt 60 is seatedin-the machine-frame, and by loosening the nut 59 on the bolt 60 thekeeper 57 v .may be moved on its pivot 58 to increase or decrease therelative distance between said keeper 57' and the latch 45. The engagingface of the keeper 57 is .bent at an angle to thepath of reci rocationof the latch 45 when forced into its orward position by the bar or rod54, For the purpose or procuring a fine adjustment of the kee er 57 acam 62 is provided, which is 'ivote to the machine-frame at 63. Througmeans of the cam 62 upon vlooseningjthe nut 59 keeper 57 may be forcedfurther into the path of reciprocation of the I latch in its forwardposition.

In operation of the shift-lock the shift-lock key 48 is depressed,turning the shank 49 on I its pivot 50 until'the pin 52 strikes theupper 45 forward in the direction of the keeper 57 i edge of theshift-lever 30. In the meantime the rod or bar 54, carried by the shank49', has ,exerted a pressure on the latch 45 in opposition to the spring56, forcing said latch which has been adjusted to suitable positionthrough means ofthe cam 61. The pin 52, striking the upper edge of theshift-lever 30, carries said lever down in the same manner as the mainshift-key 30,-bringing the nose 47 ofthe latch 45 into contact with thecamsurface of the kee er 57, whereupon,1by rea-' sonof the flexibilityof the rod or bar 54, the latch 47 is allowed to slide over the edge ofthe keeper 57 and to continue forv a limited space below said keeper.Still under pres sure of the finger the lever 30 is allowed to riseuntil the nose 47 of the latch 45 engages the under edge of the keeper57 and engagement with the said latch is held in op osition tospring 56through friction, so that t e shiftlever 30 is locked in its lowerposition and the platen in elevated position.

i The'spring 56 is not strong enough to draw the latc 45 from engagementwith the keeper 57 1 When it is desired to release the locklng screw fordevice, the main shift-key 30 is struck by the finger of the operator,causing a slight depression of the shift-lever 30 long enough to allowthe spring 56 to draw the latch 45 back out of the vertical plane of thekeeper 57, whereupon the shift-lever 30 is permitted to rise. I

I do not wish to be limited to the exact de tails of structure hereinshown and described,'

since the same may be' varied without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, the

following is'what I claim as new therein, and

desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1 In a platen-shift mechanism'for typewriting machines, the combinationwith a platen and .an elevating frame connected thereto, of a movablestop-pin mounted on the machine-frame and adapted to engage saidelevating-frame, a feed-screw engaging said stopin to adjust the sameand a setolding said pin in adjusted position.

2. In aplaten-shift device for type-writing machines, the combination ofa verticallyshiftableplaten, a main horizontal key-lever forshiftingsaid platen, a sublever through which the shifting movement iscommunicated to theplaten,.and a connecting-link between the key-leverand sublever having a rocking connection With the key-lever and anelongated bearing engaging with the sublever at progressively lessdistance from its fulcrum whereby the key-lever operates withprogressively-decreasing leverage in shifting the platen.

3, In'a platen-shift mechanism for typewriting machines, the combinationwith a tween the platen and sublever and a main le ver, of anaccelerating-link comprising a bent piece of metal secured to said mainlever straddling said sublever, and adapted to exert pressure first onthe outer end of said sublever and then at a point between said outerend and the pivot of said sublever.

5. In a platen-shift.mechanism for typewriting machines, the combinationof the platen, e sublever, suitable connection be tween the sublever andplaten, and a main shift-lever, of a pin seated in said sublever and anaccelerating-link connected to the said sublever at one point, and thenat another point nearer the pivot of said lever.

. rnain lever straddling said sublever oscillatmg about said pm to exertpressure first on 1, in the machine-frame in position to be en-'tic'ally-shifting platen-frame, a horizontal tically-shiftingplaten-frame, a horizontal shift-lever connected to said frame to raiseit I 5- from lower 'to elevated position, a latch mounted on. saidlever, a keeper engaged by said latch pivoted in the-machine-frame, anda cam device bearing on said keeper to adjust the height of its engagingsurface and 20 accurately regulate the elevation at which the platen issustained.

JEROME B. SECQR. i Witnesses:

G. A. ALLINGHAM, M. A. KUPPER 6. In a platen-shjftmechanism for type- IWriting machines, the combination of a vershift-lever connected to saidframe to raise it from lower to elevated position, a latch mounted onsaid lever, and a keeper mounted gaged by said latch to maintain theplaten in elevated position, and vertically adjustable so as toaccurately regulate the height at which the platen is so held asexplained.

7. In a platen-shift mechanism for type--

